A Day in the Life of a Social Media Strategist

by Ryan Benhase

8:30 a.m. I roll into the office, start up my computer and do some basic social housekeeping: checking my email and Facebook pages for notifications. I also grab coffee, because caffeine in all forms – iced, hot, or lukewarm – is a necessity.

9:00-9:30 a.m. It’s impromptu team brainstorming time! Ever found yourself wondering about the significance of a stock image? I have. One of the more hilarious conversations with a colleague revolves around an image of a glass of water. Is it half empty or half full? How will this make the Facebook fans feel? Brainstorming for contests, campaigns, and catchy alliterative slogans happens on the fly in our office.

10:15-10:45 a.m. I’m conference calling one of my clients, and we’re catching up on new business developments and our social campaign progress. We chit chat about life’s greatest mysteries, as well as the demographic of their target audience, according to Facebook. Other topics include: the weather, analytics/reporting from the past month, weekend plans, and trends in social media.

11:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m. We all know multi-tasking doesn’t really work, but since when has that stopped anyone? Here are the miscellaneous things on my plate: scheduling posts, announcing contest winners, checking (and revising) Facebook ads, and fielding calls/emails from team members and clients.

12:00-1:00 p.m. TGFL: Thank goodness for lunchtime! On my break, I can be found in one of three places: running errands in Hyde Park, walking around Mt. Adams to get 10K steps in or at Coffee Emporium (I highly recommend their raspberry scone).

2:15-3:00 p.m. As that old saying goes, “when emails fail, words speak.” Or something like that. I make a point to reach out to account executives, videographers and digital project managers and chat about how things are going. Every time, I learn something new that will influence my clients’ social media campaigns.

3:30-4:30 p.m. Little event planning/project management moments, like orchestrating part of an upcoming 2060 Town Hall meeting or coordinating a lunch outing/happy hour take up the last full hour of my workday.

4:50-5:00 p.m. After I clear off my desktop and inbox, I revise my handwritten to-do list of upcoming projects. Once I’ve prepped for tomorrow, I head out for the evening to begin my commute home, where I’ll recharge and do it all again tomorrow.